I worked in the tackle business for 20 years and I would take all the new rods and bend them before I put one one the rack. Only a couple of times I would get a bad rod.

Bass guys are very hard on their gear. I fish for bass and many times dragging a rod out of the locker in a hurry I thought I would break it or do some damage to one. Never had one break on a hook set so far. Leaned on one and it broke, sounded like a .22 going off.

With new rods I test them and make sure they are ready to go before I head out on a trip.

She said, "yeah, if they're going to break, it's usually the first or second time they get used."
Has anyone else heard this story from a rod manufacturer?

Having nothing to do with fly rods but back in my working days there were expected to be 'early life failures' sometimes called infant mortality. These were manufacturing defects which could not be screen out with normal testing procedures. They were infrequent but did happen. When a product got past the first few months of use it was past the infant mortality period and would then experience a low failure rate for a long time. Then when the product had been in use for an extended period, in other words getting old, the failure rate would go up because of "end of life" problems. More than you ever wanted to know.

This is why I would be very content with a "materials and workmanship" rod warranty instead of the great added expense of a "lifetime warranty". Unless there is a fundamental flaw which would show up quickly, a fly rod is not going to break unless we users perform an error and why should the rod company cover us for that? I once picked up a very interesting, super lightweight rod at a manufacturer's booth at a fishing show; gave it the wiggle test and it snapped in my hands! I am not that strong and what I did is what any of us would do but the maker looked at me with daggers in his eye and the group of interested fellow anglers...faded away. Turns out there was a batch of rods that had been baked at the wrong temperature and the next batch where great rods; but PR damage had been done.

I am nototiously tough on equipment....and subsequently have experienced more than my share of broken rods. Most were the net effect of that abuse, being dropped and nicked on a rock, rough rides in the bottom of a boat, etc.. No rod will stand up long to that kind of abuse. I have only ever had two break on the initial outing. Both times the companies were more than gracious about replacing the rods. I honestly can't understand how a compnay backs abused rods, but most do.....and I certainly appreciate it. I guess the cost of "no fault" warranties simply alludes to the profit margin on retail rods. I am one who only buys rods with "no fault" warranties....whether I deserve them or not.

Also, we book a lot of anglers on big money trips (Alaska and Costa Rica). Very often (mostly for CR) we outfit (lend) the anglers with equipment too as most of them do not have CR Tarpon grade equipment. Once that Rod/reel leaves our hands its hard to govern how its handled by the client. The Guides try, but.....as it was so eloquently expressed ....shite happens! Believe me when I say , 1. no rod makes it maiden voyage with a client, and 2. we really care about that warranty! Nothing will make you wince like a fatigued angler, after being an hour into a battle, sitting down and resting a straining rod on the gunwall of the boat! Yep, it happens, and by the time the guide yells to get the rod up, its too late.

In AK the most often reason for a broken rod is a fall, or when a salmon shoots between the legs of a wading angler when he brings it too close to himself. Rod bends double, tip encouters rocks on bottom, bye-bye rod tip.

No matter how well a manufacturer handles a rod on their end, once it leaves them, it's at the mercy of shippers & others who have to handle the rod until it's at the retailers. Even if the rod is sold direct, their is still a degree of handling, and again, if shipped, at the mercy of the shipper. Shippers are not always kind to anything they handle!

Graphite & the various other hi-tech materials used in fly rods & other rods are relatively brittle & fragile. They can take stresses for which they're designed, but not impacts.

I completely agree with you 100%. Rods now and days tend to be graphite/carbon fiber/etc. These materials that are used is what gives the blank a light and power character. Only thing is "IF" the blank gets a nick. It may not pop now BUT it will pop at some point.